This invention relates to a process for extracting valuable components from Mortierella genus fungi. More particularly, it relates to an industrially effective process for isolating valuable components such as .gamma.-linolenic acid from Mortierella genus fungi.
There has been already proposed a process for the production of cells which have a high content of lipids containing .gamma.-linolenic acid at a high density, which process comprises culturing Mortierella genus fungi such as Isabellina, Vinacea, Ramanniana, Ramanniana var. anglispora or Nana in a medium comprising carbohydrate(s) at a high concentration as carbon source(s).
In order to effectively isolate valuable components such as lipids containing .gamma.-linolenic acid from the cells thus obtained in an industrial scale, it is required to develop an appropriate process for treating the cells.
Conventional processes for extracting valuable components from cells include the one which comprises using a mixture of chloroform and methanol and homogenizing the cells therein in the presence of, for example, glass beads thereby grinding the cells simultaneously with extracting lipids therefrom (cf. Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-22199).
However, the general process as described above is hardly available in an industrial scale since it is difficult to recover the employed glass beads and to use large-sized equipment. Further both of neutral and polar lipids can be eluted with the chloroform/methanol mixture, which makes it difficult to isolate and collect either of them. Thus this process has not been established yet as an industrially available one.